Iran embarrasses US with $1 billion loan offer to Iraq

President Ahmadinejad of Iran told the United States, Britain and other foreign powers on Mar. 3 to leave the region, at the end of a visit to Iraq that demonstrated Iran's growing influence with its once bitter enemy. Blaming outsiders for bringing destruction and humiliation, he oozed confidence as he emphasized his country's renewed ties with its neighbor. Their links are now as much physical as political–Iran announced it had connected a town near Basra to its electricity supply. Lack of electricity is a top complaint in Basra despite five years of British attempts to solve the problem. Iraq's Shia-led government, which enjoys a cozy relationship with Tehran, embraced every word New Iranian-backed projects to build power plants in Shia-dominated cities in Iraq also drew accusations of sectarianism. Iran offered a $1 billion loan to Iraq for projects to be handled by Iranian companies as part of measures to strengthen ties. Ahmadinejad also signed seven memorandums of understanding with Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi President, on industry, insurance, education, transport and Customs. In a sign that any Iranian aid will focus on Shia areas of the country–a move that would aggravate further Sunni resentment–the Iranian Energy Minister announced a $200 million project to build a power station for the holy Shia cities of Kerbala and Najaf. A second power station is also planned for Baghdad's Shia slum of Sadr City. The projects highlight the failure of the US adequately to rebuild Iraq's power infrastructure despite spending billions of dollars since the war. Ahmedinejad had harsh words for Washington and London at a parting news conference after two days of talks with Iraqi leaders who did everything in their power to make him feel welcome. "We believe that the powers that came from overseas, from thousands of kilometers away, must leave the region and let the governments and the people govern their own countries," he said through a translator. "Those who came from distant places will gain nothing but hatred." Asked about repeated accusations by Washington that Tehran supports Shia militias that kill US soldiers and weaken the Iraqi government, Ahmadinejad said that he did not care about such charges because they were based on falsehoods. "It has been proven to us that when the Americans say something they rely on mistaken information. That is why we can't take what they say into consideration," he said. The US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Arab who led his country into an eight-year war against the Islamic Republic, has enabled Iran and Iraq, both countries with Shia majorities, to reestablish their natural bonds. Many of the new Iraqi leaders sought refuge across the border during the former regime and speak good Farsi. Nabil Mohammed Saleem, a professor of international relations at Baghdad University, said that the location of the developments could have been chosen to ensure the security of the Iranian contractors. Iraq rather than Iran may have specified where it wanted the projects to take place. Ahmadinejad ended his historic tour in much the same way as it began, with a military band, a guard of honor, a red carpet and a speeding motorcade to whisk him back to Baghdad airport for his plane home. In marked contrast to visits by US officials such as President Bush, who must be whisked into the country under the cover of darkness, Ahmadinejad traveled freely. He arrived on a red carpet in broad daylight, had minimal security, traveled freely on the state highway and outside the Green Zone which have been deemed too dangerous for Western internationals, and visited a few of Shia Islam's most sacred mosques.